Cleopatra Fortune (Dreamcast) review

"Cleopatra Fortune is an Egyptian themed puzzle game in which the goal is to entomb gems, sarcophaguses and mummies in a Tetris-like fashion.
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Cleopatra Fortune is an Egyptian themed puzzle game in which the goal is to entomb gems, sarcophaguses and mummies in a Tetris-like fashion.

The playing field is shaped like the one found in Tetris. Formations of bricks, gems, sarcophagi and mummies fall from the top of the screen onto the field. The formations are different from Tetris in that they come in separated pieces that are detachable depending on how you place them. Formations such as a gem and a brick, a gem and a sarcophagus, a gem adjacent to a two-tile brick or two gems to a brick are some of the types of sets given. The challenge is in planning the way you want to lay your pieces in order to entomb most effectively. The catch with entombing mummies, however, is that the mummies need to be sealed with a gem.

As I first played this game I knew I sucked as I wasn’t able to form my tombs efficiently. The gems and sarcophagi would spiral up through the playing field like a snake trying to escape its confine, and I would lose.

But I persevered as the cute purpled haired girl of the game marched to the chipper beat of the music. She spun around celebrating the successes of my entombing, hopping with glee. I kept playing because I wanted her to be happy with me, trapping gems with the caskets all day long. And I didn’t want to disappoint, I wanted to strive for perfection.

And that is what you aim for in Cleopatra Fortune. The ideal way to play is to get as many perfects as possible before the level rises too high and more complex forms begin to fall. A perfect is achieved by clearing the field completely. When you get a perfect, a portrait of the girl covers the field which changes as you get more perfects. In some of the portraits she’s showing off some skin beneath her Egyptian robes while striking an adorable pose. I’m not gonna lie, she’s pretty cute! Getting as many perfects as possible is essential to getting a high score, and keeping the Perfect mentality aids progressing in skill.

Before I knew it, I had seen all the different portraits of the girl before they cycled back around again, and I felt the sensation of progress. My tombs became more sound, my gems and sarcophagi more aligned. My mummies began to find their harmony and I was simply happier to see more of Cleopatra, Oh! Cleopatra, that is her name. I would hear more of the young Cleo the better I got! “Perfecto!” she would cheer to me. And when my tombs rose to disorder, she would yelp to me in worry and I would say, “I’ll try my best to seal our fate,” and put my thumb closer to the d-pad. Awwww~

This is the kind of puzzle game that as you get gradually better at, you have more fun doing so. As you rise in level the blocks fall faster until about each 15 levels when the music and background changes, and the blocks begin to fall slow again. This mechanic keeps the gameplay fresh and invigorating as the music holds a healthy beat and is generally feel good and positive. I get a good feeling when I play this game, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

Aquas is an STG fanatic, score-chaser and arcade lover. He hosts the Shooting Game Weekly on Youtube, a show that goes in depth on various shmups with passionate fans of the genre. Favorite video game: EarthBound.

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